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Eco-Doc: Dirty Business

Posted by, linxiyu on December 18, 2018

By: Eunice Yeung

The Eco-doc on November 25th has really opened my eyes to the issues of the world. Did you know that most of your plastic is actually exported overseas? 78 tonnes from the UK are shipped overseas every year but only 2% actually get recycled and reused. In the past, about 45 percent of the plastics in the world for recycling have been exported to China. China is now so highly populated with recycling that beginning in January 2018 they are refusing to recycle any more from the West.

The big TV makes the CAFE the perfect spot for Eco-Doc night. Any member can sign-out the TV remote from the security.

At the end of the documentary, we got together to discuss strategies in our buildings to encourage others to recycle and reduce our waste. Everyone contributed their ideas. For us residents, it is hard to recycle because we need to bring our recycling downstairs to the parking garage. This can drive us away or discourage us from doing it. Some members proposed strategies to implement some sort of reward system for recycling, such as getting awarded with hours. The idea that I really liked was for people to fin d ways to reuse recycling by having an event where people can bring in their recyclables to make crafts out of them. For example, a water bottle can be turned into a cup holder. Another good suggestion by a community member was for people to bring their own mugs to get tea or coffee in the cafe instead of providing paper cups. The discussion also revealed that some people do not know what can be recycled or not. Some people even put their recycling with their garbage and vice versa. Neill Wycik is a community and we should all keep recycling and work together because it is important to keep our building clean and save on energy consumption.